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2010 NCAA College Football Pick’em: Week 7

Last week I said I would continue to ride the Alabama Crimson Tide until they give me a reason not to. That reason came last week as their defense had no answer for Stephen Garcia and the South Carolina Gamecocks offense, who would go on to upset the nation’s top-ranked team by a score of 35-21. It was our only blemish in what was an otherwise very successful week, as Michigan State not only covered the +5 spread, but also won the game outright. As for the battle between USC and Stanford, a 30-point fourth quarter put that game easily over the 59.5-point total.

And with that, it was another solid 2-1 week for us, leaving our season record at 8-6-1. Things have been looking up for us the past few weeks, and we expect that to continue into week seven.

Here is a look at our predictions for the upcoming weekend.

Game: (12) Arkansas at (10) AuburnSpread: Auburn -3.5Pick:Arkansas

Reason: With Alabama losing to South Carolina last weekend, the SEC appears to be wide open and up for grabs. Two teams that will want to take advantage will be squaring off against one another Saturday afternoon at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Auburn has looked impressive thus far as the strong play of quarterback Cam Newton has helped his team get off to a 6-0 start, but they currently rank 10th in the SEC against the pass, and that is not good news with an NFL caliber quarterback like Ryan Mallett coming to town. The underdog has won each of the last four meetings between these two teams. Look for Mallett and the Razorbacks to continue that trend as they should be able to expose a weak Tigers secondary on route to the cover, and the win.

Game: (1) Ohio State at (18) WisconsinSpread: Ohio State -3.5Pick:Ohio StateReason: Finding themselves on top of the nation thanks to Alabama’s defeat, the Ohio State Buckeyes will want to keep things that way when they travel to Camp Randall Stadium to take on the Wisconsin Badgers. The Badgers have been a tough team to beat at home, going 40-4 since the start of the 2004 season. However, one of their latest defeats in front of the Badgers faithful came against the Buckeyes and then 19-year-old quarterback Terrell Pryor, who was starting in only his third collegiate game at the time. Prior would end up leading the Buckeyes on two fourth quarter touchdown drives on route to a 20-17 victory. Ohio State also took last year’s game at the Horseshoe by a score of 31-13. We expect Prior to make it three-for-three in his career against the Buckeyes’ Big Ten rival, and cover the 3.5-point spread in the process.

Game: (3) Boise State at San Jose StateSpread: Boise State -40.5Pick:Boise StateReason: There really isn’t much to say about this match-up. Boise State is one of the best in the nation. San Jose State is one of the worst. Forty points may be a lot, but with the Broncos looking to make a statement each week in order to get themselves into the BCS Championship Game, a game they feel they deserve to play in, they will be looking to put up as many points as possible, while limiting their opposition’s output. The Spartans have already lost to the likes of Alabama and Utah by 45 and 53 points respectively, while Boise has won its last two games by 59 and 43 points. Look for another blowout victory as the Broncos should once again outscore their opponents by 40+ points.